Measuring device



Nov. 12, 1940. H. M. JONES 2,221,482

MEASURING DEVICE Filed May 9, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet l RUZHWT/ J72 x7572 86,

NOV. 12, 1940. H M JONES 2,221,482

MEASURING DEVICE Filed May 9, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 H. M. JONES 2,221,482

MEASURING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 9, 1956 Nov. 12, 1940. H. M. JONES 2,221,482

MEASURING DEVI GE Filed May 9, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 12, 1940 Q PATENT OFF-ICE" MEASUKING DEVICE Horry M. Jones, Chicago, 111.

Application my 9, 1936, Serial N 78,942

10 claims, (01. 128-191) uring device adapted for measuring the amount and rate of oxygen consumption by human be- I ings in the breathing process, of the general character'of that shown in my earlier United States PatentNo. 1,474,904, dated November. 20, 1923.

One of the purposes of the measurement of the rate of oxygen consumption is to determine .0 the rate of metabolism, to diagnose pathological conditions, and the like. The improved'measuring device disclosed here has distinct improvements over that shown in my earlier patent, .to which reference was made above.

I One of the features. of this invention is the provision of an improved oxygen bag, in the form of an expansible bellows; another feature of this invention is an improved supporting meansfor the expansible bellows; a further feature of this invention .is the provision of a safety valve for said bellows; yet another feature of this invention is an improved check and release valve in connection with the oxygenmeasuring chamber;

other features andadvantages 'of this invention of the bearing, along the line -5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. Sis a view of the slidably pivoted connec- 5 tion between the cross-head and one of the longitudinally movable members, along the line 66 1 of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a view along line of Fig. 2; Fig. 8 is a-detailed view of the air tubes, along the line 8-8 of Fig. 2; Fig; 9 is a horizontal sec- 0 tional view of these tubes, along the line 99 of f Fig. 2; Fig. 10 is a detailed sectional view along the line l0l0 of Fig. 9; and Fig. 11 is a horizontal sectional view of the valve structure admitting oxygen to themeasuring chamber, along I the line ll-ll of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 the construction and operation of the device in general will be described. The device comprises a frame 15, an oxygen bottle it or storage means 0 for oxygen underconsiderable pressure, a'measuring chamber H, a chamber I8 adapted to contain chemicals, an expansible breather bag or bellows l9, breather tubes 20 and 2|, and a re- I cording device 22 for making a permanent record' 5 of the rate of oxygen consumption. In general,

a patient breathes through the breather tubes until a normal rate of breathing 'has been obtained, and then a predetermined amount of oxygen, measured in a chamber I1, is admitted to the expansible bellows I9, and then breathed 5 by the patient. Carbon dioxide is substantially removed from the exhalations by the chemicals in the chamber l8, and the oxygen in the bellows I9 is gradually consumed until the predetermined amount admitted thereto has been used up. The 10 rate of oxygen consumption, calculated from the length of time needed to consume the predetermined amount of oxygen, as recorded by the means 22, is then used to calculate the metabolic rate of the patient or to derive otherinformation.

, The various portions of the machine will now be considered more in detail. The breather tubes and 2 l have on the outer end thereof a mouthpiece 23 adapted to be held in the mouth between theteeth and the lips. A flexible support 24 is 20 provided for the tubes in order that they may be adjusted, during the taking of a test, so that no weight is supported by the patients mouth. This support 24 is threaded on to a stud 25 passing through the wall of the chamber l8, which stud 25 i is preferably soldered to the interior of the chamher and reinforced to prevent turning, by the bracket 26. The inner ends of thetubes connect, through the rotatable valve 21, to the passages 28 and 29 leading into the chamber. The pas- 30 sage 28 terminates in .a perforated member 30 lying within the chemical 3| in the chamber l8, this member being adapted to provide a large surface of contact with the. chemical in order .to insure the exhaled air passing through as large a proportion as possible of the chemical used. In this particular embodiment the chemical used to'absorb the carbon dioxide from the exhaled air iswhat is commonly known as soda lime or calcium oxide with sodium hydroxide. chemical is exposed towater vapors before being used, and has a water content'of about 30% of saturation, in order to prevent the pick- V 33, Gas or fluid in the expansiblebellows 19 is drawn through theperforated screen member 34 which' forms one-j side of the chamber l8, up through the passage 35, andthen driven by the centrifugal pump out through the breather tube II in a gentle stream, insuring-that substantially all inhaled air willcome from thetube 2|, and

.all exhaled air return through the tube 20. The

as by the plate 39. This plate serves to prevent the gas in the bellows from entering the passage 35 too directly, and also serves as a terminal or 6 fastening means for one end of the flexible member 3! later to be described.

The expansible bellows I9 is preferably made of rubber, attached to the chamber ii at one end, in fixed relation to the frame, and attached to a head-plate 33 at the other end. This head-plate is supported by the cross-head 39 and is free to move toward or away from the chamber i3. This head plate has an opening 43 therethrough normally closed by a valve-member 4| spring-pressed 15 against the imier side of the opening by the flexible metalstrip 42. The flexible member or .chain 31 has one end attached to the valvemember 4| and the other end attached to the plate 39. The latter-mentioned end of the chain is thus fixedly attached to a point removed from the valve member, here the wall of the chamber directly opposite the head-plate, and thus movement of the head-plate 33 away from the chamber to a point further than the length of the 25 chain 31 results in the uncovering of the opening 40 and the ventingof any gas in the bellows to the outerain. This is an important safety feature, since an inexperienced or careless operator could release into the bellows a larger amount 30 of oxygen than the bellows is adapted to contain,

which amount would burst the bellows unless some safety features were provided. 7 As heretofore stated, the head-plate '33 whic forms the movable end of the bellows I9 is supported, referring ,more particularly to Figs. 3-6, by a cross-head 39 carried by longitudinally movable rod members 43 and 44. Thecross head is rigidly fastened to the rod-member 43 as by the set screw 45, but is loosely slidably pivoted to the rod-member 44 at its other end, 0 as by the bolt is. It will be noted that at this end the cross-head 39 is provided with a slot 41 surrounding the bolt or pivot-member 49, In this manner slight irregularities in spacing, par allelism, and longitudinal movement of the rod 45 members 43 and is compensated for, and firm support is provided for the cross-head 39 without any possibility of jamming during movement.

Guide-members 48 and 49 are provided for the longitudinally movable rod members 43 and 44, 0 said guide-members being here shown as substantially tubular members having opposed longitudinal slots 59 and BI through which the cross-head 39 extends therewithin. The guidemembers are supported on the frame 15, as by the screws 52 and 53, which screws also serve to hold within the guide-members the bearings 54 and 55 supporting the rod-members. These bearings, and similar bearings 59 and 51 are alike, so the bearing 91 only will be described. It is provided with an opening 53 therethrough, slightly larger than the diameter of the rod member 44 which passes therethrough, and has in the bottom of the opening a roller 53 supporting 65 said rod, and in turn supported by ball bearings so. In this mariner the end-plate as moves back and forth very readily, and the slight pressure caused by inhaling and exhaling causes a movement of the end-plate 33 and the longitudinal 70 members 43 and 44.

A pen-holder 9| is carried by one of these longitudinally movable rod members, here 43, and is adapted to recordthe movements of the rod, and consequently of the end-plate of the bellows,

75 on a card 92 carried by the card-holder and aasmaa r clock-container 93, the card 92 moving slowly downward at the rate of a minute.

The oxygen bottle I3 is one of t e common commercial type carrying oxygen compressed therein to a high pressure. Referring more particularly to Figs. 2 and 11, the oxygen bottle it has a head 94 provided with an opening 95 in the side thereof and a manually rotatable valvemember 93 adapted to open or close this passage when rotated by the removable handle 91. A valve mechanism 99 is provided in an opening 99 in the wall of the portion of the measuring chamber ll adJacent the opening 93, and gaskets "and II are provided, the first sealing the valve-device 99 against the wall 12 of the chamber l1, and the second sealing the head 64 against the valve-device 93. Means for holding the oxygen bottle head in position, and maintaining or releasing pressure against the gaskets I3 and II, is provided in the form of a screw-threaded pressure member I3, adapted to be also rotated by the handle 91. The valve-device 33 is provided with a very narrow entrance opening, here shown as a slot 14 in the side of the screw in the end thereof, which slot leads through a common type of spring-pressed one-way valve 19 to the interior of the chamber H. The very small opening 14 is provided in order that there will not be an excessive rush of oxygen from the bottle l9 if an inexperienced operator opens the valve 93 too. wide. It will be noted that the valve-device 93 is threaded into place through the wall 12, but when completely screwed in is loosely mounted in the opening 99 in said wall, so that there is a small amount of play possible. Pressure of the holding-means l3, transmitted throughthe head 6 4 of the oxygen bottle, normally holds this valve-device 93 tightly sealed against both the wall 12 and the head 34; when it is desired to release this seal, however, it is only necessary to release the pressure exerted by the member I3 and the seal will be' broken, allowing any gas or fluid under pressure in the measuring chamber I! to escape between the wall 12 and the gaskets Ill to the atmosphere.

The measuring-chamber I1 is used in combiapproxima tely an inch nation with the pressure gauge 11 to measure out i a predetermined amount of oxygen to be released into the expansible bellows l9, generally one liter. In operation, all valves are first closed, with valve 21 in such a position that the patient may both inhale and exhale through the tube 20. After the mouthpiece has been arranged and the nostrils closed by a clip not here shown; the valve is turned to permit breathing through the passages 23 and 29, which is carried on until a normal rate of breathing has existed for a minute or two. Valve 99 in the head of the oxygen bottle is then opened and oxygen admitted into the measuring chamber l1 and the pressure gauge 11' reads a pressure determined in accordance with the size of the measuring chamber, the height of the apparatus above sea level, and the room temperature, the object being to release one liter of 'oxygen at standard conditions into the bellows l9 when desired. The valve 63 is then closed, and the oxygen held in the chamber ll until desired for use. Should too large an amount of oxygen be admitted to the measuring chamber II, it is only necessary to release the seal of the valve-device 93 by turning back the screw member 13. When the proper amount of oxygen is present in the chamber I I, and the patients breathing is substantially constant, the valve 13 is opened to admit the oxygen, through the passage 18, into the expansiblebellows IS. The test is then carried on, as heretofore outlined, until a liter of oxygen has been consumed by the patient being tested. I

While I have shown anddescribed certain embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that it is capalyle of many modifications. Changes-therefore, in the construction and arrangementmay be made without-departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims, in which it is my intention to claim all novelty inherent in my invention as broadly as possible, in view of the prior art.

. What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described for measuring the rate of consumption of oxygen, including: a frame; an expansible bellows having one end thereof fixed with respect to said frame;

'apairl of guide members on said frame; longitudinally movable members supported by said guide members; and mounting means on said said bellows.

2. A device ofthe character described for measuring the rate of consumption of oxygen, including: a frame; a chamber on said frame for chemicals; an expansible bellows having one end thereof attached to said chamber; a pair of guide members on said frame; longitudinally movable members supported by said guide members; and a cross-head between said two movable members supporting the other end of said bellows.

3. A device of the character described for measuring the rate of consumption of oxygen, including: a frame; a chamber on said frame for chemicals; an expansible bellows having one end thereof attached to said chamber; a pair of guide members on said frame; bearings on said guide members; longitudinally movable members supportedby said bearings; and a cross-head between said two movable members supporting the other endof said bellows.

4.A device of the character described for l measuring the rate of consumption of oxygen,

including: a frame; a chamber on said frame for chemicals; an expansible bellows having one end thereof attached to said chamber; a pair of substantially' tubular guide members on said frame having opposed longitudinal slots; bearings in said guide members; longitudinally movable rod members carried by said bearings; and a cross- .the other of said rod-members.

6. A device of the character described for measuring the rate oi consumption of oxygen, including: a frame; a chamber for chemicals mounted on said frame: a head-plate movable 1 with respect to said frame; an expansible bellows connecting said head-plate to said chamber: a vent opening in said head-plate; a springpressed valve member normally closing said opening; and a flexible member connecting said valve member to said chamber, whereby said valve member is removed from said opening when said bellows has expanded a predetermined amount.

'7. A device of the character describedfor measuring the rate of consumption of oxygen, including: a measuring chamber having an opening through the wall thereof; a valve device seated in said opening and having a springpressed movable valve member therein adapted to admit oxygen from an oxygen bottle to said chamber butprevent its return therefrom; and a said bottle, said means being so constructed and arranged that said valve-device seal may be released to permit oxygen to escape from said chamber.

9. A device of the character described for measuring the rate of consumption of oxygen, including: a measuring chamber having an opening through the wall thereof; a valve-device loosely mounted in said opening and having an outer portion larger than said opening, said de- .vice having a one-way valve therein; a gasket between said enlarged portion and the wall if said chamber around said opening; a second gasket on the outermost portion of said valve-- device; an oxygen bottle having a head adapted to lie with the opening therethrough adjacent said gasket; and meansfor pressing said oxygen bottle head against said gasket, whereby said valve-device is sealed against said head and in said opening.

10. Apparatus of the character described for measuring the rate of consumption of a fluid, including: a relatively fragile expansible bellows; means for admitting to said bellows a fluid under pressure sufiicient' to rupture said bellows; a safety release vent opening in said bellows; a spring pressed valve member normally closing said opening; and a flexible member connecting said valve member to a point in said bellows removed from said valve member and with respect to which said valve member moves when said bellows expands, whereby said valve is opened when said bellows has expanded a predetermined amount. I

VHORRY M. JONES. 

